Kings, Queens, and Conspiracies
by PurpleLuna98
Summary: For hundreds of years, there was peace between the kingdoms. They had friendly competitions between them, the Kings kept in touch, and the people traveled freely throughout the four. This all changed, however, when the King of Hearts was brutally murdered by a member of a court of an opposing kingdom: Clubs, Diamonds or Spades. Cardsverse!AU, rated T for fighting later on.
1. Prologue

**_PurpleLuna98 here, and sorry for not updating my other stories! I (most likely) will update both The Dictatorships and The Hitwoman later today. I just thought of this story idea while listening to All the Right Moves (One Republic), then I added on more ideas when I listened to Viva la Vida (Coldplay) later on. And so, this prologue was born. I hope everyone likes it!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do _****not ****_own Hetalia, or either of the songs listed above._**

**_Song of the Chapter: All the Right Moves by One Republic_**

**_Hetalia AU, rated T for the fighting later on in the story, and this prologue is basically a very big summary that wouldn't fit in the little 'summary' box._**

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_Prologue_

A long time ago, in a land far, far away... There lived a king with a vast majority of land and the wealthiest nation of all the nations surrounding it for miles. This king, however, wanted more. His citizens, content with their current situation, revolted against the government. A war started between the government and the people.

The kingdom was falling apart at the seams, and the people decided to take matters into their own hands.

They won the war, and started to work on appointing a new king. However, the people found that they had four different opinions on how the king should rule the kingdom.

Threats were thrown left and right, but the people settled on a way that the monarchy could rule without much protest. However, the people had split into four different groups to protest each other.

Finally, the Monarchy could have no more of it, and they offered the people opportunities to help quell their disputes. Three of the four groups would have none of it, and a new war started.

After years and years of fighting to no avail, other than making everyone miserable, the kingdom relented, and gave the people what they wanted: freedom from each other.

Soon after, four kingdoms immerged. Spades, Clubs, Hearts, and Diamonds. After this, there were no more wars between the former kingdom. They stayed in touch, and helped each other with the wars with foreign nations.

For hundreds of years, there was peace between the kingdoms. They had friendly competitions between them, the Kings kept in touch, and the people traveled freely through the four. This all changed, however, when the King of Hearts was brutally murdered by a member of a court of an opposing kingdom.

Now, the Monarchy of Hearts is going to hold a ceremony for the crowning of the new king. As per tradition, the new king will be the most qualified Pawn of the court, and the Pawn will choose a Pawn-in-waiting to replace them. This is where our story begins, with the court gathering for the ceremony...

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_**Extremely short, but this was just to set up the background and past of the current world. Depending on the feedback, I'll either post this chapter sooner or later. Any questions, either review or PM me, I'll see both.**_

_**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!**_

_**~PurpleLuna98**_


	2. The Coronation of Hearts

**_Welcome to the first official chapter of Kings, Queens and Conspiracies! (By the by, going to start calling it KQC) PurpleLuna98, here, and I'm sorry for the previous chapter. It was really short, and I barely consider it a chapter myself. To make up for that, I typed this up then decided to add on some more in the end, and then I got a much longer chapter._**

**_Enough talking, on with the story!_**

**_Warnings: Romano's mouth and mentions of a murder_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia~ :(_**

**_Song of the Chapter: You Give Love A Bad Name by Bon Jovi (good song, not related in any way to the story.)_**

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_Book I:_

_Part I_

The robes were itchy, and had way too much red and purple for my liking, but today was the day. They day I might get chosen for King. I had been a Pawn for the last ten years of my life, which means I joined the court when I was only nine. The Queen of Hearts would have none of it, but the King talked her into allowing me to join. Now, the famous King Roderich had been murdered, and the court was holding a ceremony, open to the public, to decide the new King.

I, and the four other Pawns, were currently putting on our official Pawn uniforms. The first layer consisted of a tight, magenta suit that ran from our ankles, to our neck, the arms going all the way out to the wrist. Next, we put on a chest plate that was blood red, and it stretched to our mid-abdomen, the shoulders jutted out, and part of it was a hood that went over our heads. We put on gloves that ran to our elbows and boots that reach almost to our knees, and they both matched the chest plate's blood red.

Over all of that, we wore tunic that (flapped in the wind~) displayed our country's emblem proudly: a heart with a thorny vine wrapped around it, and a halo hovering over the heart.

I was wiggling on the boots, when another pawn came up behind me. I looked back to find Lovino glaring at me.

"Hurry up, bastard. You're the only one not dressed. Again." His arms were crossed, and the curl that stuck out of his hair bounced as he talked.

I sighed and finished lacing up my boots. I grabbed my gloves. "Fine, fine."

Katyusha smiled at me sympathetically. "It's okay, Alfred. You never have agreed with that outfit."

I slipped my gloves on over my hands. I smiled at her. "Thanks, Katyusha! I hope you become King, I think that it'd be awesome!"

She smiled at me. "Frankly, I think anyone but Feliks would be a fairly good King." She looked over at him. "Sorry if that offended you, Feliks."

"It's, like, totally okay. I never want to be King, anyway. It's way too much, like, _work_." He said, flipping his long blonde hair over his shoulder.

I looked over to the quiet girl in the corner. No one knows her real name, so we all call her by the nickname she calls herself. "What about you, Liech? Do you like the possibility of becoming the new King?"

She shrugged. "I don't like the idea of being the role, so much, but I like the idea of maybe seeing Big Brother again."

I smiled softly. Pawns usually don't go to the meetings held between the four kingdom's courts. Some of us, including me, have gone because someone on the court invited us, but others, such as Liech, hadn't gone at all.

She looked up at me, her blue-green eyes filled with nervousness. "How about you, Alfred? I know how much you've wanted to be King. Do you think you might actually get to be it?"

I nodded, and flashed my cocky smile at her. "Totally. Right now, this kingdom needs a hero! And since I am the hero, I could totally fit the picture!"

Lovino snorted. Everyone knows that both he and his brother are Pawns, though his brother is in a different court, so he doesn't really care if he becomes King or not, because either way he can still have contact with him. Other than Katyusha, I think I was the only pawn that actually _wanted_ to become King for more than seeing family.

Although, if I became King, then I would get to see my family. I had two fathers and an older brother. One of my fathers was the King of Clubs, Arthur Kirkland, and my other one was the Queen of Diamonds, Francis Bonnefoy. My twin brother, older by a couple minutes, was the Bishop of Clubs.

If anything, I at least wanted to make it onto the court like the rest of my family. Being a pawn was a huge honor, but being on the court was a whole other matter.

From what I knew, Katyusha had a brother and a sister, both were younger. Her brother was the Rook of Spades, and her sister was the Queen of Spades. I think she wanted to be on the court to see them again, but I knew she also wanted to get revenge on whoever took out our former King. I also believe that she doesn't believe that her brother _or_ her sister did it.

The only difficulty I had with becoming King was the Pawn choice. You see, when a Pawn became a King, the Pawn had to choose a Pawn-in-waiting to replace them. The Pawns-in-waiting were all in the same pool together, no matter what country they hailed from. If they were born in, say, the Kingdom of Diamonds, then went to school to be a Pawn, then got chosen to be a Pawn for the Kingdom of Clubs, they could either relinquish their Pawn-in-waiting status and start over their career as something else, or they could join the court. That was usually how families got so easily separated, like mine was. I was born in the Kingdom of Clubs, but I'd lived in the Kingdom of Hearts for nine years - almost half of my life -, so I had strong feelings for both kingdoms.

I snapped out of my reverie when Lovino yelled at me to get in line. I did, right behind Katyusha. All five Pawns then followed Lovino into the grand throne room, which was decorated for the occasion of this ceremony.

Think of a grand ballroom. Now, put a small staircase at the end across from the doors (consisting of about ten steps) that held five different thrones, two of them being grander than the other three. Windows stretched from the floor to the ceiling behind the thrones, and the light flooded into the room. Guards were posted along the walls and at the doors to keep the peace. The walls, while normally being gray and dull in color, were decorated with the kingdom's emblem on banners that were in the nation's colors - red and purple - and there were rows upon rows of seats (all of them packed to the brim with people). Between the rows was a red carpet, that we Pawns then walked down.

Most of the guests were from our kingdom, Hearts, but at the front were the courts of the other three nations: Clubs, Diamonds and Spades. I spoted my fathers and twin, and I resisted the strong urge to make a fool of myself and wave to them. Katyusha and Lovino seemed to be having the same problem, as well as Liech. Feliks just looked bored.

We reached the front, and Lovino stoped. The person behind him, Feliks, fanned to the right, and the person behind him, Liech, slid to the left. Katyusha walked and stood next to Feliks, and I stood in my place besides Liech. I tryed not to focus on the stares pointed at my back, and tryed to focus on the Queen or Hearts, who had started to stand.

"Welcome, everyone, to the coronation of the new King of Hearts." she said, raising her arms in a welcoming gesture. She smiled. "My name is Bella Maes, and I am the Queen of Hearts. My court consists of five Pawns, and one of these five Pawns will be a King by the end of the day. Today, we gather here to decide who this Pawn will be."

I zoned out. This ceremony was as boring as it was when Roderich was elected (I had to watch it to become a Pawn). I guess it was to be expected. I mean, ceremonies aren't really meant to be comfortable, or even entertaining. All of the ceremonies were based on tradition, and tradition usually isn't comfortable or entertaining.

"Liech Zwingli?" She bowed. I got ready to bow. "Alfred Jones?" I bowed, my hood almost falling off. Luckily, it always does that, so I tilted my head so that it wouldn't. No one noticed and I stood back up straight.

"The court has gone over all five of your flaws and weaknesses. We have come to a unanimous decision-" (that barely _ever_ happened!) "-and our choice is..."

She looked directly at me. My heart stopped. "Alfred Freedom Jones, fifth Pawn." Claps erupted around me, and I stared up at her. I... was... King...?

"Step forward, Alfred." I did so, mouth still nearly hanging open. I took down my hood, as she had motioned to do so. I kneeled before her, and bowed my head. She unsheathed her hidden sword, and tapped both my shoulders. She then leveled it at my chest. "Alfred Freedom Jones, do you accept leaving behind you current post of fifth Pawn and rising to the position of King?"

"Yes, milady." I said, trying not to let my voice shake. Judging by the snickers from the Spades row, I guess it must have shook, anyway.

"Do you accept the role of ruling the Kingdom of Hearts, taking up the responsibilities of the King before you and keeping the peace between the nations for as long as humanly possible?"

"Yes, milady." My hands were starting to sweat. I looked at Katyusha out of the corner of my eye, and saw her smiling happily. She gave me a subtle thumbs-up.

"Alfred Jones, do you accept the most important role of all? Do you accept keeping the honor of the Kingdom of Hearts as high as it currently is and not letting it drop whatsoever?"

That was my que to look up. I did so, her green eyes nearly bursting with all kinds of emotions. "Yes, milady."

She smiled, and I finally saw the main emotion: pride. That's right, she had seen me grow up under Roderich, and now I was taking his place.

"Then rise, and claim your new role." She said, still smiling.

I do so, and two assistants rushed forward with the King's cape. The cape was beautiful, purples and reds running together to form the emblem of the Hearts kingdom, and the hem being lined with the two gemstones of our kingdom: rubies and amethysts. The Queen took it, and turned to me. She walked slightly to my left, and draped the cape over my shoulders. It was lighter than I expected it to be.

Two more assistants rushed forward with the King's staff. I saw that it was made of some kind of silver metal - most likely silver or platinum, as our kingdom didn't use gold - and there were various spots that had rubies and amethysts in the staff. The Queen handed it to me, and I took it with great care. I was almost afraid to put it on the floor, but I knew that is what I must do so the ceremony may continue, so I did it anyway.

The last assistant rushed forward with a purple pillow, on it resting the most beautiful crown I had ever seen, though it closely resembled the one of the Queen's head. The base was a solid silver, and the sides were decorated with rubies and amethysts, and everything glistened in the light. I was so awed, but I didn't have much time to admire it, for I had to stoop over so the Queen could put the crown atop my head. Once she did, I stood up straight and smiled down at her.

"Now, King of Hearts, look out to your new citizens."

I twirled slowly, suddenly very aware of everyone's eyes being on me. I attempted not to make a fool of myself, and luckily I didn't. From this angle, I could see the differences in the kingdoms. The reds of purples of Hearts took up most of the room, the front row to my left had yellows and whites, telling me that Spades took up that row. The row behind them had different shades of blue, alerting me that that was the Diamonds. The front row to my left had blacks and greens, informing me that the Clubs were on that side.

As soon as I was done looking at the crowd, as if on cue, the crowd bowed their heads. I attempted not to blush. Everyone rose. I looked over at my father in Diamonds, who smiled proudly at me. I looked over to Clubs, and found that my brother was comforting a bawling King. I smiled softly, seeing my twin smile back at me. I looked out to the crowds, and spoke the next line that continued the ceremony: "Bring forth the Pawns-in-waiting."

Half of every row in the front stood and made their way to the base of the steps. My (former) fellow Pawns moved to the side to made room for the thirty or so Pawns-in-waiting. I saw many that I recognized from Clubs, and some from Hearts, but my eye landed on one in particular, as if my eye was drawn to him.

He was from Spades, as he was dressed in white and yellow. He had short, blonde hair and violet-blue eyes. He was shy, and stood towards the back of the crowd. I made my way down the stairs, as was tradition (people don't usually know the names of _all_ of the Pawns-in-waiting), and made my way over to him. Only when I was standing in front of him, did he look up at me.

"What is your name?" I asked, my voice softer than I meant it to be.

His eyes flashed with a mix of emotions: surprise, nervousness, anxiety. He twiddled his thumbs. "Uh... R-Raivis Galante, sire..."

I smiled down at him, knowing exactly what he was going through. Suddenly, I knew why I picked him: he had reminded me of me when Roderich picked me to take his place on the court. "Raivis Galante, how would you like to take my place on the Monarchy of Hearts?"

His eyes widened. I felt the glares from the other Pawns-in-waiting, even though they weren't aimed at me. He nodded hurriedly. "Y-yes, sire!"

I smiled again and offered him my hand that wasn't gripping the staff. He took it, and I tried to ignore the sweat that was heavy on his hand. I led him through the crowds, and walked up to the Pawns.

"Guys, could you accept him into your court?" I asked, looking particularly at Lovino.

He crossed his arms. "Sorry, _sire_, but do we really have a choice at all?"

I raised an eyebrow, and Katyusha cut me off. "Yes, we'd love to Alfred. I-I mean, sire."

"Just Alfred is fine." I said, looking down at the small blonde. "These are the other Pawns of my court. I'll let you introduce yourself to them."

He nodded and let go of my hand. He walked over to Katyusha, who bent a little to talk to him properly. I smiled, and turned back to the front. I climbed the steps, and walked to the only empty throne. I slowly sat in it, trying not to look awkward or dazed, which I was. The rest of my court stood up, and made a short line (only four people) in front of me.

The first person was, obviously, the Queen. She wore her traditional Queen's dress, layers upon layers of red and magenta. Her crown, almost identical to mine, was perched atop her short blonde hair. She wore purple and red jewelry, and her hands were folded in front of her. She smiled down at me.

"I am Bella Maes, Queen of Hearts. I help you with the affairs of our kingdom."

I smiled. "Hello, my Queen. I hope we work well together." I quoted what Roderich had said at his coronation. She didn't seem to notice, and walked back to her seat on my left.

The next person had blonde hair that stuck up in the front and flattened in the back. He had light blue eyes, darker than mine, though, and his lips were drawn up into a smirk. He wore a full suit of silver armor, with a tunic over it, that looked similar to a Pawn's tunic, and had emblems on the front and back. He had the sword that defines him as a Knight at his side, and it was all completed with the small earring in his ear that was red.

He bowed his head, then stood up again. "Mathias Køhler. I'm the Knight of Hearts. I lead the armies of our kingdom and generally am involved with anything having to do with the military." The smirk had never left his face.

I smiled up at him. "Hello, Mathias. I hope you keep our lands well protected."

He bowed again and returned to his seat on my right. The next person I had vaguely recognized. He had blonde hair that was slicked back onto his head, and he had piercing blue eyes. His face was stern, and he didn't have a smirk like Mathias did. He wore the Rook uniform: thick leather shirt and pants, as well as shoes, and a tunic that had the emblem on the front and back. He wore an amulet around his neck, and I recognized it as the amulet that gives the Rook protection powers.

"Hallo. My name iz Ludwig Beilschmidt. I am zhe Rook of Heartz. I deal vith zhe defenze of zhe kingdom and alzo take part in zome of zhe culture." I easily understood him through his obviously-foreign accent.

I nodded and smiled up at him. "Hello, Ludwig. I hope that I can trust that there will be no invasions with you around."

He simply nodded and bowed, then returned to his seat next to Mathias. Last was a man with curly brown hair and green eyes. His eyes looked about ready to droop closed, but I saw excitement and alertness in them. He wore a red robe that fell down to his feet and dragged on the floor. He wore a tunic over his robes that held the emblem on both sides, as all other outfits did. I realized then that the Queen was the only acception to that rule. He carried the staff that gave the Bishop offensive and seeing magic. He bowed and smiled at me lazily.

"My name is Heracles Karpusi, and I am the Bishop of Hearts. I deal with keeping the peace between us and other nations, and I also deal with the religions of our land."

I noded, and smiled. "Hello, Heracles. I hope that if we work together, there will be everlasting peace throughout our kingdom."

I had said something right, because his smile became wider. He bowed deeply, then practically skipped over to his seat next to the Queen.

The Queen stood again and said some ending speeches. I zoned out, knowing that I wouldn't be need anymore today other than to smile pretty and look good.

The rest of the day flew by. There was a banquet dedicated to my coronation, but it was boring and the only thing that was good was that they knew my favorite food and supplied it willingly.

Lots of people wanted to congratulate me, mostly wealthy people desperate for the chance to get on my good side while I was 'still fresh'.

Eventually, I was escorted to the King's room. I stripped off my clothes, and threw on my usual pajamas. I jumped onto my bed, and within minutes, even with all of the thoughts flying through my head, I was out.

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**_First part of the first book! Woot! This is so much more detailed than what I usually write, and to be honest, I really like it. I'm going to be this detailed in everything I write now! :)_**

**_Key of people's names:_**

**_Alfred Jones: America_**

**_Roderich: Austria_**

**_Lovino: South Italy/Romano_**

**_Katyusha: Ukraine_**

**_Feliks: Poland_**

**_Liech: Liechtenstein _**

**_Arthur Kirkland: England_**

**_Francis Bonnefoy: France_**

**_Bella Maes: Belgium_**

**_Raivis Galante: Latvia_**

**_Mathias Køhler: Denmark_**

**_Ludwig Beilschmidt: Germany_**

**_Heracles Karpusi- Greece_**

**Lots _more characters introduced next chapter! Although, most of them I won't go into detail about. Another time, another time. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Review and PM me if there are any questions at all! _**

**_~PurpleLuna98 _**


	3. Meeting of the Courts

_**I'm back! So I've actually had this chapter for a while, but I've been lazy and haven't gotten around to posting it. :P**_

_**Anyway, enough of me, on with the story!**_

_**Summary (I decided to add this in): Alfred's first meeting with the other three courts! Will things take a turn for the better, or will a discovery dash his chances at finding King Roderich's killer?**_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing~**_

_**Warnings: slight cussing, mentions of murder**_

_**Song of the Chapter: Last Friday Night by Katy Perry (TGIF GUYS! :D)**_

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_Book I_

_Part II: Meeting of the Courts_

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_Characters of this chapter:_

_Bella (Maes): Belgium. Queen of Hearts_

_Katyusha (Braginskya): Ukraine. Pawn of Hearts_

_Ludwig (Beilschimdt): Germany. Rook of Hearts_

_Heracules (Gupta): Greece. Bishop of Hearts_

_Roderich (Edelstein): Austria. Former King of Hearts_

_King of Diamonds: Yao Wang- China_

_Arthur (Kirkland): England. King of Clubs_

_King of Spades: Antonio Carriedo- Spain_

_Queen of Diamonds: Francis Bonnefoy- France_

_Queen of Clubs: Kiku Honda- Japan_

_Bishop of Spades: Vash Zwingli- Switzerland_

_Queen of Spades: Natalya Braginsky- Belarus_

_Mathias (Køhler): Denmark_

_Knight of Clubs: Lukas Bondevik- Norway_

_Knight of Diamonds: Jack Kirkland-Australia_

_Knight of Spades: Abel Jansen- the Netherlands or Holland_

_Vladimir (Popescu): Romania_

_Pawn of Diamonds, Elizabeta (Héderváry): Hungary_

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My servants woke me the next morning, reminding me of the big meeting between the kingdoms today. They dressed me - much to my dislike (I can dress myself just fine!) - in the King's outfit.

The Hearts' King's outfit had silver armor as the base. The chest plate of the armor had the Hearts' emblem carved into it. I wore the King's cape over it, along with wearing my crown and carrying my staff. It was very formal, and it made feel... like a King.

I walked down to the kitchens for a quick breakfast that consisted of many sausage links and eight scrambled-egg-filled plates.

I then briskly walked to the meeting place, which was in the part of the castle that only members of the court could enter.

I walked into the room. The room was organized in a very particular way. There was a circular table in the center of the room; this table had the design of the former kingdom edged into it, though now it was the four kingdoms that it depicted.

Around the table were benches, though they were raised into the air so both rows could see the table down below them, much like bleachers. The raised seats had two rows: the row closest to the table (and lower to the ground, though still raised up) was where the Queen, Knight, Rook and Bishop sat, in that order. Pawns sat in the higher seats. The Kings sat at the table. Pawns usually didn't attend the meetings, but today I saw that every Pawn was sitting in their seat.

The room was in the dead center of the former kingdom stood. Where the four kingdoms were, however, was where the courts sat. Diamonds was to the north, Spades to the south, Clubs to the east, and Hearts was to the west.

I sat down in the western seat at the table. I was the last person to enter the room, other than the four Knights that were off having their own meeting about Roderich.

Everyone stared at me as I walked over to my seat. I glanced behind me as I sat down, and saw that Bella and Katyusha were giving me encouraging smiles, Ludwig had crossed his arms and was giving me a stern look, Heracles seemed to have fallen asleep, and the rest of my Pawns were conversing quietly.

I looked back at the room, as nervous as ever. Two of the three Kings were giving me knowing looks, but the one from Diamonds and sitting to my left glared at me as if I was expected to be as perfect as Roderich was.

"The new Hearts King is late, I see-aru." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. I noticed that he had the same colored armor as me, but instead of the highlights on his armor, cape and staff being red and purple, they were different shades of blue. He had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail that was draped across his shoulder. His crown was like mine, but it had sapphires and diamonds instead of rubies and amethysts.

I blushed. "S-sorry, I tried to eat a light breakfast..." I looked down at my lap. I felt his disapproving glare on my head as I did so.

Someone put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see my father looking down at me. His armor and cape were as black as night, and the highlights were green. His crown was sitting atop his blonde splash of hair. His crown, instead of being made of a silver metal, was made of a pure black metal, just like his armor, and the jewels decorating the crown and staff were emeralds and onyxes.

He looked down at me with fierce green eyes. He smiled. "Don't worry about it, Hearts, I think that we all had a rough first day. Plus, it is kind of hard to live up to Roderich's legacy."

The King from Spades smiled warmly. "_Sí_, I do think that even if you aren't perfect like Roderich was, then you'll still be a good King in your own way." He said, an accent coming out while he spoke. He wore white armor with yellow highlights. The cape was the same, as well as the staff he had leaned up against the table. His crown, resting atop his head, was made with the white metal, and the jewels in it were some yellow gem and pearls.

The other three courts, I noticed as I looked around, all had the same outfits that my court did, but they just had different colors and gems on them, and they had the emblem of their kingdom.

I smiled. Their words were really nice, and now I felt really good. "Thanks, that's a really nice thing to say."

Spades smiled. "Ah, I remember my first meeting well! Roderich was the one who gave me confidence to speak! It only seems right to do the same to his favorite former-Pawn!"

I smiled. Diamonds' King grunted. "We need to start this meeting. Anyone have any suggestions on which topic we should start on?"

I scanned my mind for what the Kings talked about during the last meeting I went to. They talked about crime rates, debt, relationships with other countries... and- "How about our economies?"

Arthur smiled. "Yes, that is a good topic to start off on. Diamonds, want to start?"

The Diamond Queen stood up, my other father, Francis. He wore - instead of a poofy and frilly dress like Bella wore - a blue suit. His long, wavy, blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His sparkling blue eyes found me.

He smiled fondly at me, then started his speech on his economy. I listened intently. Diamonds' lands were usually snowy and unfit for farming, and it was usually very cold. The lands that weren't part of a mountain range - the mountains took up more than half of the land - were hills upon hills of grass and snow. The snow cut off about five kilometers away from Hearts and Spades.

The main income in Diamonds was mining for jewels, coal, and drilling for oil. Oil didn't bring in as much as an income as mining did, though, because oil was really only used for lighting lanterns. They also brought in some money by hunting, though most people who hunted in Diamonds didn't usually sell the government very much.

"-so, we've decided that maybe instead of having the hunters sell their killings, that they could sell it to other countries themselves. We're going to try it out for a week and see if income increases." Francis finished, smiling brightly.

His King nodded at him, and he sat down, winking at Arthur, who blushed. The Diamonds King turned to Arthur. "How about you, Clubs?"

Arthur's Queen, a short man with brown eyes and black hair, was wearing a black suit with green accessories. His expression didn't change at all as he stood. "Hai, I shall start."

Clubs was the eastern-most country, and they did a lot of trading with the three countries (besides Spades, Diamonds and Hearts) that touched their borders. The land in Clubs was mostly rolling hills, with a single mountain range in the north, that spilled into Diamonds' lands. They raised livestock, mostly, and since there had been a freak snowstorm that swept over half of their land, their economy was suffering heavily.

"So in response to our suffering economy, we are requesting suggestions to help our economy thrive again."

The Bishop from Spades, a stern man with chin-length blonde hair and aqua eyes, raised his hand. He wore white and yellow Bishop robes, and his staff glowed with yellow light.

"Hai, Bishop of Spades?"

"I suggest that you pool your money and attempt to stop buying anything that isn't necessary."

"Hai. But, while we do that, wouldn't we need more job options?"

A Pawn from behind me spoke up, Lovino to be exact. "Why don't you attempt to farm again?"

"Our land just got hit with-"

"Not the part that got hit with the storm, the land that is closer to Spades. The soil there should be more fertile."

The Queen nodded. "Hai. We will try that, thank you very much, Pawn of Hearts. Would anyone else like to suggest anything?"

No one spoke up. "Thank you very much for listening." And with that, the man sat down. It kind of creeped me out how his face didn't change at all while he was presenting.

"Spades?" Arthur asked, looking at the darker-skinned man.

The Queen stood up. I knew her as Natalya, Katyusha's younger and more violent sister. She wore a poofy dress that was much like Bella's, but with the Spades' colors of white and yellow.

Spades was a very tropical nation, with jungles, forests, _and_ grassland. Most of the grassland was being used for orchards or for plots of land, but there were bits that were still growing wild. The jungles were left mostly untouched, and they grew like wildfire. Forests were either being cut down or being replanted, either one for the good of Spades. A good deal of the nation's southern border was taken up by ocean. Their main sources of income were fishing, farming and timber.

"-plus, if we do succeed in this, than it could very well help the economy of Spades." She finished, flicking her platinum-blonde hair behind her shoulder. Her angry purple/blue eyes flashing across the room as she sat back down.

"Hearts? You're next, _sí?_" The King of Spades asked.

Just as Bella stood up, the door to the room slammed open. Everyone's heads swiveled and looked at the door to see the four Knights walking in. Mathias, wearing the armor he had worn yesterday, had an arm slung over a bored-looking blonde that was shorter than him and wearing the armor and colors of Clubs. Behind them, mumbling something I couldn't make out, was a brunette with hair sticking out at weird angles, something white over his nose, and pale green eyes. He wore the armor and colors of Diamonds. Behind them, walking with a bored look on his features, was a tall blonde man, his hair sticking up more than Mathias', that bore the armor and colors of Spades.

"'S'up guys? We're back from our meeting!" Mathias said, stating the obvious.

Spades smiled at his Knight. "Knight, where have you been?"

"Sir, we decided to-"

"I decided that we should go and visit the place where Roderich died and interrogate the witnesses again!" Mathias said proudly.

The blonde pushed Mathias off of him. He had a dead look in his dark blue eyes. "Quit lying, Hearts, you know it was Diamond's idea."

The Knight of Diamonds got a scared look in his green eyes. "No, no, I said that Hearts could take the credit! It's fine."

Arthur sighed. "It doesn't matter whose idea it was! What matters is what you accomplished with this unscheduled side-trip."

The Knight's faces all fell into a look of dread and despair, except for Spades, who decided to speak up. "We found that Roderich was killed by magic."

"Magic?" The Queen of Spades spoke up. "Why would you say that?"

"Because there was magic residue on his body." The Knight of Clubs stated plainly.

His King raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed against his chest. "Oh, and which color was it?"

Magic used to be in abundance in our kingdoms. It used to be an everyday part of life, like the rain and the grass. But, for some reason unknown to us, magicians had stopped being born only recently. Now, there only three people known to be able to use magic without a median (Rook's amulet, Bishop's staff): Arthur, someone named Lukas, and someone else named Vladimir. Lukas was, the last I checked, a Knight in the Clubs kingdom, so I could only assume that this dead-eyed man was Lukas. Vladimir was somewhere in Diamonds.

But before magic died out, it morphed in a certain way so that non-magicians could tell who's magic was who's. Instead of being all gold like it was, each magician's personality influenced their magic and their magic would turn another color. Arthur's was a bright, forest green, Lukas' was a deep, turquoise green, and Vlad's was rumored to be blood-red. Also, depending on what the median was used for, the median's magic would also be tainted a color: Hearts' was cherry red (Rook) and dark purple (Bishop). I could only guess at what the other kingdom's magic colors were.

"Well... Sire, it was black." Jack said hesitantly, as if he was scared of Arthur.

Suddenly, I saw why. He sprang out of his seat and was in front of the Knight in seconds. Jack was my half-brother, and he was always respectful of our shared father, Arthur. I was older than him, and I went off to Hearts before I could see him grow up. I later found out that he had become a Pawn, then the Knight, of Diamonds, and I was happy for him.

"What color was it now, Knight of Diamonds?" He asked, his voice taking on a low and deadly tone.

Jack attempted not to cower. "Black, King of Clubs..."

Arthur stepped away from the Knight. "Black magic. This does not bode well..."

Black magic was mainly used for killing and cursing. It was the same color, no matter which magician cast it.

"Indeed. If someone used black magic on Roderich..." Lukas started.

Everything clicked together, all at once. I slammed a fist on the marble table, causing the room to turn to me. "Then someone killed Roderich on purpose, and made him die in complete pain."

One of the Pawns from Diamonds started to cry. I looked up at her. I immediately recognized her as Elizabeta, Roderich's wife of twelve years. Even being on opposing courts hadn't kept them apart, and they had had a house that was on the borders of both of their kingdoms. That had all changed, however, when Roderich was killed.

I angrily turned to my Knight. "What else did you find out?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... we were at the scene, and Clubs was investigating the angle that the magic was cast from or some shit, then he had a look at the body and said that the spell could've been a lot worse."

"What does that mean?" The Diamond King asked, clearly annoyed at this news. I narrowed my eyes. His eyes betrayed the fact that he couldn't care less about this. What was this guy, heartless?

"It means that whoever did this to Roderich wanted him to be in as much pain as possible as he died, but he was interrupted by something." The Knight of Spades turned to me. "Or some_one_."

* * *

**_Ah, another chapter completed! So far, I have a pretty good understanding of where this story is going so far. I'm already done with the draft of the next chapter, so it won't be long until I post the next chapter of this! _**

**_By the way, sorry if during the story you couldn't tell which character was which country. Alfred doesn't know all of the names, so it wouldn't fit if I put their names in there (or their country names, for that matter). I tried to explain them to the best of my abilities, but at the beginning of each chapter I'm going to put a country-to-person key so that everyone can have a clearer picture of the character I'm describing in their mind. I will shorten the list next time, as the people on the list will be only the people whose names aren't used often _and_ who haven't been introduced._**

**_Anywho, lots of stuff in this chapter! New characters, a hazy description of this world, _and_ more info on the murderer! Any questions? Just send a PM! (Reviews are also accepted)_**

**_Summary of the next chapter: Alfred is handling the news of Roderich's tortured passing not too greatly, and Bella is trying to cheer him up. Can Alfred manage to piece everything together before something else happens?_**

**_Thanks for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed!_**

**_~PurpleLuna98_**


	4. Extra Security

_**Hey guys! Here's another chapter, so enjoy!**_

_**Warnings: death and suggestions of violence**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't won Hetalia!**_

_**Song of the Chapter: Rumour Has It by Adele**_

* * *

_Book I _

_Part III: Extra Security_

* * *

_The court of Hearts is mostly used in this chapter, although others are mentioned. I think all names should be recognized._

* * *

It was after the meeting, and I was sitting on my throne massaging my temple slowly. Bella was looking at me worriedly.

"Sire, are you okay?" She asked, her green eyes filled with worry.

I sighed. "For the last time, call me Alfred!" I said in slight annoyance. I hated formalities.

"Sorry, Sire, but you're King now, and we can't just drop the act. It'll make our court look bad, you know?" Mathias said from my left. He was sitting in his throne so that his back was to one armrest and his feet were draped across the other.

"Why not? Why not when it's only us? No one will ever know, and we can get a break from being so stuffy!" I said, still denying that this couldn't work.

The Knight chuckled. "I'd love to do it, but someone is a stickler for rules." He lowered his head over the armrest to look at Ludwig, who looked up when he noticed us looking at him.

"I don't like to take riskz. It makes for veak defense." He countered. "But you vouldn't know about zhat, vould you, Knight?"

Mathias scoffed. "I know how to follow rules! Plus, what if the risk is building a stronger defense?"

"I agree." Heracles said from the other side of Bella. "Sometimes building a stronger defense becomes a risk because you are then lacking offensive strength."

"Besides the point, guys! All I want is for formalities to be cast aside while we're alone. Is that cool?"

"Fine by me! I hate calling everyone by their title, anyway."

"I don't care, as long as you are happier, Sire." Bella said, smiling at me.

"I guess I agree." Heracles said nonchalantly, as if he wouldn't care either way.

That left Ludwig. "Come on, Lu-"

"Rook."

"Whatever! See, that's what I want to get rid of, the constant _need_ for me to call you by your title, not your name! That's what should change!"

"No. Rules are rules, Sire, even if zhey are more like suggestions." Ludwig said, staring straight into my eyes.

I pouted. I crossed my arms. "Please?" My eyes begged to him.

I saw his walls crumble. "Vell... I don't think zhat-"

"Oh come on, it'll only be around us! Promise!" I said, plastering on a pout that could get me money on the streets.

"Vell... okay, if you promize it vill only be around us... zhen it should be fine." He said, obviously not liking the idea whatsoever.

"Yes! Thanks, Ludwig!" I said, smiling happily. I suddenly felt better, though I still had a pounding headache and still felt guilty about the assumption that I made of the Diamond King.

"Alfred, do you need to lay down?"

"No, I'm fine. Just... I need to get my mind off of the meeting..."

"We can talk about the recent drops in crime rates!" Heracles piped up nonchalantly, though his eyes betrayed the fact that he was happy about this topic.

I had to admit, I was surprised. Heracles was one of those guys that didn't really show any emotion. I smiled. I guess it was to be expected, though... Bishops were known for their resistance to any type of fighting. They were usually the figure that would speak out against any type of war.

I smiled. "Sure, why not?"

Heracles started to rant about the drops in crime rates. I zoned out. Sorry, but the lack of killings and suicides didn't interest me much, though I knew that it was good.

I thought back to the meeting. Something wasn't right about Jack... or his King, for that matter. I would say that Elizabeta was acting off, too, but I don't really know that one. She didn't usually show that she was grieving, and she hadn't for Roderich, but she could've reacted like that because she was holding in her emotions for too long, and this could've been the last straw.

Then again, now that I thought about it, black magic would have to be cast by a magician, or someone with a median. So... definitely someone on one of the courts, right? Or that Vladimir guy. Actually, I'd have to look into whether he was on the Diamond's court or not.

"Alfred? Alfred!" Someone said, waving a hand in front of my face.

I shook my head after taking it off of its perch on my hand, which had been resting atop the armrest of my throne. I looked over to see Bella looking at me questioningly.

"You sure you're okay, Alfred? You had a glazed over look in your eyes, and Bella's been calling your name for a couple minutes now." Mathias said from behind me.

"I'm fine... it's just, I was thinking about the meeting, it just doesn't make sense!"

"I think Spades did it."

"Who in Spades, Mathias? And why do you think?" I asked.

"Their Rook. Damn, that guy is _creepy_! I feel bad for Katyusha! I mean, his sister's in love with him, he loves the King of Diamonds, _and_ he always carried around that pipe! Ya know, that black magic could've just come from the aura he gives off when he's angry!"

I chuckled. "I don't think it was Ivan. I've known him for a while, and even though he's messed up in the head, he's not that messed up. Plus, Rook amulets can't do black magic."

"Actually, zhey can. Only advanced Rooks can do zhat, zough. Und it iz for defensive purposes, not for offense."

"Then he did do it!"

"Zhat doesn't mean zhat he did it, Matzias." Ludwig argued.

While they argued, Bella seemed to notice something out in the hallway. She excused herself, and I offered to come with her. She denied it, and told me she'd be back. I nodded, then attempted to break apart the feuding men.

"Just because he iz creepy does not mean he committed murder!" Ludwig was saying.

"Well who do you think did it, Luddie?" Mathias asked, smirking as Ludwig's face turned from an angry expression to a resigned one.

"Nozhing. I think zhat it was a freak mistake by a bystander. Und don't call me zhat."

"That could preform black magic? That was aimed right at Roderich?"

"Maybe. You do not know zhat it vus on purpose."

"Really?" Mathias shot back.

"Let's stop fighting. This fight is pointless, and-" Heracles gasped, his eyes widening so that they were actually fully open (for once). "Bella-"

A scream pierced through the air. Heracles and I sprung up, and we bolted down the stairs, Ludwig and Mathias close behind us.

We ran out into the hallway, and Heracles led the way. "What happened?" I asked, frantically running behind him.

"Bella, she's-" Another scream cut him off. I could clearly make out the pain and anguish in it. It was Bella's scream, too. "Nevermind. We have to hurry."

I nodded, even though he didn't see it. We hurried along the hallways, our footsteps echoing eerily. It was late, and we were planning on ending the meeting when Bella had returned.

We turned a corner, and saw two figures in the torchlight. They were at the end of the hall. One was wearing a cloak, and he turned away and fled when he was us. Mathias and Ludwig hurried after him, and Heracles and I dashed over to the form that was slumped against the wall.

Bella. The front of her dress was stained a deeper shade of red, and it smelled of blood. The wall she was slumped against was splattered with blood, and her beautiful blonde hair was caked in blood. Her hands were also covered in blood, and I guessed that she had tried to stop the bleeding. She wasn't breathing.

I dropped to my knees, and started to shake her. "Bella? Come on, Bella!"

No response.

"It's okay, he's gone, you can stop pretending now!"

No response.

My eyes started to tear up. "Bella, t-this isn't funny! Open yours eyes!"

No response.

I cried out, then brought her limp body into a hug. I started to cry, and I tried to pretend that it was her tears leaking down my back, and not her blood.

Heracles put a hand on my shoulder. "Alfred, I found something."

I put the body back the way it was. I tried not to cry more as I stood back up. "Show me."

Heracles bent down. He pointed to some streaks of blood on the wall. "See these? Tilt your head a little to the left and tell me those don't look like words."

I tilted my head to the left, and I could indeed make out letters. "It was the King..." It looked as though there was meant to be more, but she must have died before she could finish. I gulped down a sob. Her dying words were trying to tell us who it was...

"Yes. But, look over here."

On the other side, in much neater print (obviously while written while she wasn't losing her eyesight), were more words. "Murder equals Dia-?" The Dia was badly damaged, as if the killer had seen it and tried to scuff it out.

"There's only one King of Dia-, isn't there?" Heracles said glumly.

My eyes ignited in frustration and anger, and mostly, a lust for revenge. "Yeah, and guess who is going to get a piece of King of Hia's mind?"

"Alfred, think about it. We can rush into this and get ourselves killed, for the other kingdoms will surely side with Diamonds because they'll think you're being too rash, or we can wait it out and get more evidence." Heracles said.

I growled. "Bella died, Heracles, how much more evidence do we need?"

"Alfred, please! Listen to me this once! If we get any more evidence, no matter how insignificant, I won't object to us going into battle with Diamonds, okay?! Just agree to not charging off now! This is part of being King!"

The last part stopped me. He was right, after all; making big decisions for the better of the kingdom, and not your own feelings, _was_ part of being King.

I nodded. I slowly sat down, still looking at the dead body. It all seemed to be sinking in: the fact that Bella was dead, the fact that the killer was _right here_ in this hallway, the fact that I couldn't do anything about it but hold my tongue and wait.

"Heracles, promise me something."

"What is it, Alfred?" He asked, obviously trying to locate where Ludwig and Mathias were.

"Promise me no one else will die." I knew it was childish, but I just... I felt like I had to hear it from him, or I would fall apart, right then and there.

"Alfred, you know for a fact that I can't promise that..." He started.

"At least promise me we'll try. I don't want anyone else to die. I'm the hero King that has to get revenge for Roderich... but I can't play that role if everyone I've come to care about is dying right in front of me, y'know?"

Heracles said nothing for a while. I could picture a lazy smile working its way over his lips. "I promise at least that much, Alfred. We can have Ludwig put up some spells around the castle and on our court's person, okay?"

I nodded numbly. It was the best we could do, I knew it... other than... "I also want a Pawn to accompany each of us at all times."

"A Pawn?" Heracles seemed confused. "They don't have much fighting experience unless they practice themselves-"

"I can list off the ones that don't have any experience. The other ones all have experience with their weapon of choice."

"Like who, Alfred?" He asked, sitting next to me.

"Take Katyusha for example. Her brother, the Rook of Spades, was taught swordplay by her, but he uses it for wielding his pipe instead of a sword. Or Lovino, he was taught by King Roma how to wield daggers or something of the like."

"The others?"

"Feliks definitely can't do anything but makeup and looking good, but Liech was taught self defense by her brother, mostly hand-to-hand combat. I don't really know about Raivis, but he might not know anything." I finished.

"What will we do with the Pawns who can't fight?" My Bishop asked.

I looked over at him. He was staring at the body like I had previously been. I looked back at it, brought my legs up to my chest, and placed my chin on them.

"Put them with the members of the court that can fight. I would really like Katyusha as my new Queen, but-"

"You can only have a Queen from another court, Alfred." Heracles cut in. I sighed.

"I know... I was just saying. Though, you know, I'm thinking Elizabeta should be our new Queen."

"Why would that be?"

"Because she has just as much lust to kill this murderer as I do."

He nodded from beside me. "But I think that we should go through the rest of the Pawns. Other Pawns might offer other opportunities."

I nodded as I heard footsteps approaching us. "Alfred! He got away!" Mathias said, stopping next to me and putting his hand on his knees, then started breathing heavily.

Ludwig gulped loudly. "Alfred... Bella is...?"

I didn't bother to finish for him. It was taking all my strength to hold back another wave of tears that were on the brink of cascading out of my eyes.

"Oh God, not her, too!" Mathias said, falling to his knees beside me. "I-it can't be, this is some kind of cruel joke, right?"

"I wish, Mathias..." I said, a tear escaping my hold.

"Ludwig, Mathias, let me show you some evidence we found..."

I listened to their reactions, Mathias' the same as mine, mostly, and Ludwig's... silence. Heracles started to explain, and Mathias started complaining as I had.

"Guys, we can't attack Diamonds outright. We'll be labeled as rash, me specifically, and the other three kingdoms will team up against us. I agree with Heracles on this one. We have to sit back and wait for another attack."

Ludwig smiled as I stood up. "Let me guess: defense spells?"

"If you would. Also, I'm assigning each of us a Pawn to protect us. Even if they're only good for avoiding attacks, then that's better than nothing."

"That's all they're going to be used for?" Mathias asked, his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.

"Of course not! That would be horrible! No, if they can't fight, then they'll try to see the face of the attacker, and also you must protect them if this is their job. If they can fight, then it'll be their job to defend you."

"So basically, they're either our savior or our bodyguard?"

"Exactly. Plus, the killer might not even attack if it's two against one." I said, allowing myself to smile a bit.

"I see. But who vill get zhe Pawns zhat cannot fight?"

"Depending on who we choose as our new Queen, probably you, Mathias and I. If the Queen can defend their self, than I'm thinking maybe one of those Pawns could go with them, maybe Feliks."

"I see. Zhis is actually a pretty good plan." Ludwig complemented me. I nodded.

"So why Ludwig?" Mathias asked, still soaking in this information.

"Defensive magic."

"Why not Heracles?"

"Because it'll be his job to contact us if he senses something out-of-place, like he did today."

"What if I'm the one being attacked?" Heracles asked.

I hesitated. "Can you send anykind of signal to other people?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's only to one person, though. The spell is that you know exactly what's going on wherever I am, and then you see what's happening. It's mainly used for battles and such."

"Yes, but sounds perfect for this purpose, doesn't it?" I smiled widely.

I looked down at Bella. "Don't worry, Bella. I'll make sure that your death wasn't in vain. I'll make sure to get revenge for both you and Roderich."

* * *

_**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I will be posting the next two chapter before the 29th, as that is when a week-long marching band camp starts. It takes all day, so I won't have any time to do anything. So this story, and my other two (The Dictatorships and The New America), will go on a short hiatus after the 28th. Sorry!**_

_**Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are welcomed, but not required!**_

_**~PurpleLuna98**_


	5. Queen Bella's Funeral

_**Welcome back! Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia and probably never will**_

_**Warnings: funerals, and cussing (surprisingly, most of it coming from China!)**_

_**Song of the Chapter: If I Die Young by The Band Perry**_

* * *

_Book I_

_Part IV: Queen Bella's Funeral_

* * *

_I think for the most part you can figure out which character is which, but here are some just in case:_

_Meimei (Wang): Taiwan, Pawn of Diamonds_

_Michelle (Bonnefoy): Seychelles, Pawn of Clubs_

_Gupta (Hassan): Egypt, Pawn of Spades_

* * *

We had the funeral the day after. Not everyone showed up that was invited, in fact, most of the courts didn't show up. The Knight of Spades, I found out his name was Abel, and a Pawn of Spades showed up, her name was Anais, though, because they were her siblings.

They stood over the closed casket, Abel's arm wrapped around Anais' shoulder. It was a really sad sight; I turned away.

The casket was lowered at exactly eleven thirty. Everyone that attended was crying, even Ludwig, who was sniffling into a handkerchief.

I felt tears well up in my eyes when they put the gravestone onto the newly-piled dirt. I couldn't help but cry. I kneeled in front of her grave, and placed the bouquet of red roses in the already over-flowing flower pot that had already been placed.

"Bella... I-I still can't believe you're dead... you helped me through it all, encouraged me until the end... and even though I barely knew you for most of my life, and was just starting to get to know you now... well, I'll miss you, Bella. A lot." I broke down.

Heracles put a hand on my shoulder after I had sat there for a while, crying into my hands. "Sire, the Pawns have gathered information on all the Pawns that could take Her Majesty's place."

I nodded and stood up. I looked back at the grave, then took a deep breath and briskly walked away, passing Heracles as I did so.

We walked to the throne room we had been in yesterday, the Pawns having pulled up chairs at the base of the stairs. I strode over to my throne, keeping my tear-stained face hidden beneath my bangs.

The throne to my left was empty. I was reminded yet again of how much life Bella had put into our court. I couldn't think of anyone that could replace her.

"Shall we start, then?" Liech asked, politely getting my attention.

I looked down at them, and smiled. "Please. I'd like to finish as soon as possible."

"Yes, Sire." She looked over at Lovino, who grumbled something about 'bastard needing to stop nagging me'.

"So we've come up with all fifteen possible candidates." He told me.

Lovino rose and walked up the steps. He handed me a stack of papers, and I looked down. There were names of fifteen people, five names were circled:

Gupta Hassan- Spades, Gilbert Beilschimdt- Clubs, Michelle Bonnefoy- Clubs, Elizabeta Héderváry- Diamonds and Meimei Wang- Diamonds.

"Five people, huh?" Mathias asked, looking over my shoulder at the documents.

"Thank you, Pawns. We will look over them and decide our Queen."

The Pawns nodded and left the room, one by one. Katyusha smiled at me over her shoulder as she left, and I smiled sadly back at her.

"Alfred, do you know any of those Pawns?" Heracles asked.

"Elizabeta, of course... and also Michelle."

"How do you know Michelle?" Ludwig asked.

"She's my half-sister. Francis, her father, is also my adoptive father."

"Adoptive?" Mathias asked, looking up from the documents.

"Uh... yeah..." I rubbed the back of my neck. It wasn't like I minded talking about having two fathers- it seriously didn't matter in my opinion - but if we started to talk about my adoptive parents, then we'd get around to talking about my real parents. I wanted none of _that_ shit. "Anyway, I don't know the other three people. Do you guys?"

"Ja. Gilbert is mein bruder." Ludwig said, pointing to the name above Michelle's.

"Your brother?" I imagined another Ludwig, blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, no-nonsense attitude. I smirked.

"I know Gupta. He doesn't talk much, but he's hardworking and doesn't like to give up a grudge easily." Heracles said from his throne.

"And the Meimei girl?" I asked, looking down at the last circled name.

"All I know is that she's Yao's kid." Mathias said, shrugging.

"Yao?"

"King of Diamonds." Heracles clarified.

"The guy that looks like a girl?" I asked. Of course I thought he was a boy at first...

"He's a man. He only wears his hair like that because it's traditional." Heracles said, glaring at Mathias, who had fallen over laughing.

"Well okay. Ludwig, would your younger brother be a good replacement for Bella?"

"Vell-"

"WEST?! Your awesome older bruder iz here to brighten your unawesome day!" Someone yelled from the hallway.

Ludwig groaned. I raised an eyebrow, but my question was cut off as the throne room's doors were thrown open, revealing a man in a Clubs Pawn uniform.

The man was considerably pale, and had snow-white hair. His eyes, a unique shade of red, were spottable from across the room.

Suddenly, a pan smacked the man on the back of his head. A women appeared, and I immediately recognized her as Elizabeta, light brown hair and dressed in the Diamonds uniform for Pawns. She yelled at the man for being rude, and the man rubbed his head and attempted not to look annoyed.

Michelle, with her black hair up in pigtails again, walked in behind them, followed by a girl that had beautifully-colored brown hair with a blue flower in it, brown eyes, and dressed in the Diamonds' uniform.

Finally, following the group at a slight distance, a man with light brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair was wearing the Pawn uniform of Spades and seemed to be mumbling something under his breath.

The albino had spotted Ludwig standing behind my throne. "Bruder! I havun't seen you in forevur! How long haz it been?"

Ludwig massaged his temple at the man's obnoxiously loud voice. I remembered having that kind of voice before my coronation... "Bruder, it has been literally two days. Und _please_, use my title vhile ve are not alone."

I looked between the two. I nearly burst out laughing. "Rook...?" I asked.

"Ja, he iz mein bruder." He said, trying not to look down at his brother in distain. I smiled.

Heracles walked over to my throne. Mathias was scanning the names again. "I can see the resemblance."

"How?" I asked, clearly puzzled.

"I meant to his mother. Your Rook's older brother is a lot like their mother in many respects, but now is not the time for this."

"Ja, ve need to pick a new qveen."

"Fine..." I looked down at the five Pawns, then back at my court. Heracles obviously wanted Gupta... Ludwig thought Elizabeta was a good choice... And Mathias wanted a girl. Possibly to do unspeakable things to.

He turned back to the Pawns. "Who can fight?"

Everyone raised their hands, except for Michelle. I smiled apologetically, and she nodded before skipping out of the room. Wow, she really didn't want to be Queen.

"Okay... Who here has ever seen magic been used?" Elizabeta, disappointingly, put her hand down. Gilbert did as well.

"Who here is good at speaking to the public in the face of danger?" I definitely needed a Queen like that.

Gupta put his hand down. I smiled at the small girl. "It would seem we have our new Queen."

Her eyes brightened. I smiled softly.

"Would you mind if we didn't do an official coronation, your Highness?" Heracles asked.

She was practically shaking in glee. The other Pawns had left. "You mean I can choose?!"

"Not normally, but we have serious business to attend to, as I'm sure you know."

She nodded happily. "Thanks so much! I'd prefer no coronation! Too stuffy! Also, can we call each other by our first names when we aren't around anyone?"

I smiled widely, and I heard a three-way face-palm go on behind me. "I like this new Queen already. Welcome to Hearts, Meimei."

* * *

"That bastard picked my daughter?! Out of fifteen?!" He growled, hands braced on the windowsill, as he glared out into the snowy night.

"Oui, mon Roi [my King]." His Queen said, trying not to sound frightened or unnerved.

"Damn him. Damn him to hell for thousands of millennia." Yao growled. "He should have picked Elizabeta or Gupta, they were more likely to succeed or something of other means!"

Francis shrugged as his angry King paced in front of him. "Désolé [Sorry], but it cannot be undone. The King of Hearts has chosen his new Queen."

"And I wish he had chosen someone else. Damn him to eternal hell."

Francis sighed. If only he knew who the murderer was, he could tell Alfred and he could bring them to justice. The stress of this situation was getting to even his cool-tempered King.

* * *

The Man watched His next victim walk by. So, he was the stoic one of Hearts... He sure did look the part. There was a pawn walking next to him, muttering things about the stoic one being a bastard of potatoes in some language.

The Man knew He could not take them together. One had strong defensive magic, and the other looked as if he could run pretty quickly. Perhaps He would find a new target...

* * *

_**Another chapter! I'll be posting the next one soon. Any guesses on who the killer is?**_

_**Review are welcomed, but not required!**_

_**~PurpleLuna98**_


	6. Declarations

**_Hey guys, welcome back! Here's another chapter for you guys!_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia. Also, in the sneak-peak at the bottom, I don't own the idea for that chess game - that belongs to _****_BFTLandMWandSEK's 'Of Kings and Pawns'. _**

* * *

_Book I_

_Part V: Declarations_

* * *

_Everyone in this chapter you guys should be able to recognize._

* * *

_The small boy stepped into the giant court of Hearts, reds and purples looking quite out-of-place compared to the greens and blacks he had grown up with. His hands were in his father's, currently the first Pawn of the Kingdom of Clubs, and his brother's, who was a Pawn-in-waiting, just like him._

_His brother looked a lot like him, as they were twins. There were small differences, though: his eyes were blue, his brother's were violet; the curl that stuck out from his brother's head was nothing like the cowlick that stuck out of his; and most notably, his brother was quiet and he was loud._

_His father had had many children, most still at home, but he had favorited Matthew and the small boy, Alfred, because they passed their Pawn-in-training tests so young: the youngest ever, in fact._

_The young boy was ecstatic. He had never been to a coronation ceremony outside of Clubs! Was it going to be the same? He was greatly confused when he noticed that only the court of Clubs and the Pawns-in-waiting from Clubs sat in the row labeled 'Clubs'. Where were the people of his kingdom?_

_"Dad, where is the rest of our kingdom?" The young boy asked, tilting his head to the side._

_"Think about it, Alfred. If we are in Hearts for their coronation ceremony, then which kingdom's citizens would be attending?" Arthur asked, taking his seat. Alfred and Matthew both climbed up next to him and Arthur took the latter into his lap._

_"Hearts." Matthew mumbled._

_Alfred's face brightened. "That makes since! Thanks bro!"_

_Soon after that, the coronation began. The last King of Hearts, a portly man that did a horrid job at ruling the kingdom, had passed away, and Hearts needed to choose their new King._

_Alfred was immersed in the coronation. Five Pawns walked into the room, all of them looking as old as Arthur. One caught his eye, and winked at him. He had brown hair that was hidden under his hood, and kind, violet eyes turned back to the front. Alfred, from then on, had been interested. He wanted to know if that nice man would rule._

_The nice man, his name being Roderich Edelstein, second Pawn, was decided to become King. Alfred bowed his lowest, then clapped the loudest. Even through the chaos, Alfred could see that Roderich was smiling at someone from Diamonds. Alfred looked over and saw a very pretty Pawn smiling back at him._

_Alfred was turned back to front when Roderich was trusted with the King's cape, staff, and crown. He then turned to the crowd, and cleared his throat._

_"Could I please have the Pawns-in-waiting make their way to the front?"_

_Alfred grabbed Matthew's hand and hurried to the front. The other Pawns-in-waiting towered over them, and Alfred's heart sank when he realized he probably wouldn't get chosen. It was then that there was a hand placed on his shoulder._

_He looked up to find the new King kneeling at his level, smiling softly. Alfred smiled back at him brightly._

_"Congratulations, your Highness!" Alfred said happily. He seemed to have completely forgotten the people staring at him._

_The smile widened. "Thank you, young man. May I ask you what your name might be?"_

_"Of course, your Majesty! My name is Alfred Freedom Jones! This is my brother, Matthew Frederick Williams!" Alfred said, pulling on Matthew's hand with his own. Matthew smiled politely._

_The man chuckled softly. "Well then, hello Alfred and Matthew. I hear that both of you are the youngest graduates of the Pawn schooling program ever, graduating at age nine?"_

_Alfred nodded happily. "Yeah! But I wouldn't have gotten through so early is Mattie hadn't helped me study! It was really hard to memorize everything!"_

_Roderich smiled. "I know the feeling. Now, do you remember what happens at the end of a King's coronation ceremony?"_

_Alfred paused a minute, then smiled when he remembered. "Yeah! The newly-crowned King is supposed to pick a Pawn-in-waiting to take his place in his court's Pawns! Right, Mattie!"_

_His twin nodded as the room's attention was turned to him. He squeaked, and Alfred tilted his head in confusion. "What's up, Mattie?"_

_He shook his head. "N-nothing!"_

_Alfred frowned. There was obviously something wrong, but Roderich had stood up, capturing Alfred's_ _attention again._

_"Would you like to take my place, Alfred?" He asked, now towering over Alfred again._

_Alfred hesitated. He didn't want to leave his family in Clubs so soon... And even if he did, he had wanted it to be to Diamonds, because that was where his other father lived... But Roderich was so nice... Alfred smiled brightly, throwing his hands up in the air. "That'd be awesome, your Highness!"_

_Roderich chuckled, and offered his gloved hand to Alfred. He readily took it, shooting his brother a happy glance, then followed the newly-crowned King to his court of Pawns._

_"Alfred, these fine gentleman and lady are going to help you through adjusting to Hearts and your new duties, okay?" Roderich said kindly._

_Alfred smiled. "Sure!" He dropped the King's hand and ran over to the group. He heard Roderich chuckle, than start to climb the steps. Alfred had reached the group._

_"Hi! I'm Alfred! What are your names?"_

_"Ohayo, Alfred. My name is Kiku." A short man - compared to the others at least, he was still tall to Alfred - said curtly._

_"Hi there! My name is Katyusha! Ooooh, you're so adorable!" Said lady kneeled down at Alfred's eye level and cupped his face with his hands. "You remind me so much of your father!"_

_"Lovino." Said a grumpy-looking teenager. His arms were crossed. He looked to be about thirteen._

_"And I'm Mathias!" The last man exclaimed, smiling broadly._

_"Nice to meet all of you!" Alfred said. He turned back to the coronation, to find that the next part had already started._

The scene changed around Alfred. His body grew, and he was wearing his Pawn clothes. He was fifteen in age.

_"Hurry up! We're going to miss it!" Lovino yelled. Mathias had recently been replaced, as he had been inaugurated into the position of Knight by the court, no ceremony, as was tradition._

_The new Pawn was still struggling with her outfit, and she looked pretty flustered. She was twelve._

_I walked over to her, and helped her with it. She smiled at me gratefully. And with that, we walked out to go to the Queen's coronation ceremony._

I felt a hand on my shoulder. Ignoring the procession of Pawns, my past self being one of them, I looked to the hand.

A smile broke across my face as I noticed Roderich standing behind me, smiling softly. The scene around us melted, and now we were in a blank, white space. But I didn't care!

"Roderich!" I yelled, enveloping him in a bear hug. He laughed.

"Ah, Alfred! Good to see you again, young man! How has being a King been?" He sounded as if he knew, but wanted to ask me anyway.

The happy smile fell from my face. I immediately though of Bella. Someone shimmered next to Roderich, then the form hardened, and I gaped as Bella smiled at me.

"Don't worry, Alfred. I don't blame you for my death. I can only blame myself, as I was foolish enough to fall into His trap." Her eyes darkened at the 'His', but they brightened again, if only a little. "You need to be careful, Alfred. Ludwig would have been murdered last night if it wasn't for Lovino there walking next to him. He's prowling, watching for an opportunity to strike _you_ down, because you are the one that made it harder for him."

"What harder for him?" I asked.

Roderich and Bella exchanged glances. They knew. They knew and they couldn't tell me. "Oh, my dear boy, I'm afraid we can't answer that. Just keep your guard up, and beware of the war looming right over your head." Roderich said.

"What? War?! But there hasn't been a war in Hearts for years!" I yelled.

"Yes, my boy. I'm glad you took Heracles' advice, you needn't wage war when there is one being waged on you. Stay sharp, my boy."

The people in front of me flickered. Bella frowned slightly. "Your Pawn is waking you up. Alfred, if you don't remember anything from this dream, remember this: don't be rash, don't jump into things quickly. That is what He wants you to do. Keep your head level, and most importantly: trust no one."

The dream went to complete black, then slowly came back. I started to hear Liech's voice. Roderich smiled sadly. "Now go, my boy. Make us proud. Being the hero means that sometimes you have to step back and look at things from a wider perspective."

And with that, the dream faded into nothing...

* * *

I sat up in a cold sweat. Liech was looking down at me worriedly. "Sire, did you have a bad dream?"

I thought of Roderich and Bella. That definitely wasn't bad. "No, why would you ask?"

"You were thrashing all around and screaming about how there's never been a war in Hearts."

Damn. "Okay, so I had a dream, but it wasn't bad."

"May I ask what it was about, sire?" Liech asked politely.

I shrugged. "Roderich and Bella were talking to me. They told me to be-"

The door slammed open. "What the hell is goin' on in here?!" Mathias yelled. His Pawn, Raivis, was right behind him as he strode into the room. "I heard the screamin' from the other room! Alfred, what's wrong?"

I sighed exasperatedly. "Nothing is wrong. But I might as well explain it to the court."

In minutes the court was gathered in my room. I felt rather uncomfortable, but I recounted the dream exactly how it happened.

Everyone turned to Heracles as he made a 'hm' noise. "This is most disturbing. Especially for Ludwig and Lovino. You were lucky to avoid slaughter."

I nodded, and Lovino gulped. Ludwig crossed his arms. "So zhe traitor isn't vone of us, vhich is good. Last night I knew for a fact everyone vas vith their partner."

I nodded, confirming this. Liech and I were playing chess. "Yeah... What I'm worried about is this war."

"From the way you said it, it was as if someone had already declared war on us, or our tensions with another kingdom were high." Meimei commented, looking troubled and pleased. I smiled apologetically. Her first day as Queen and she's hit with _this_.

"I will go around today and check on our relations with each kingdom. It will take all day, and Feliks and I will be gone for most of it." Heracles started, but Feliks interrupted him.

"Like, I totally don't need to go." Feliks announced.

"You are going. I am taking no chances anymore." Heracles said, then he turned to me. "Pawns, you need and Mathias need to warn your units. We don't know if they'll try a sneak attack, and I'm sure I can trust Ludwig to make a schedule for when the guard shifts will be, as that will need to be escalated. Alfred and Meimei, I need you two to try and see if anyone, and I do mean _anyone,_ has seen anyone suspicious in the castle."

Everyone nodded, knowing their assignments. "Okay everyone, Feliks and I will start in Spades. We will be back."

And with that, Heracles turned, his Bishop robes fluttering behind him, and strode out of the door. Feliks followed him at a trot.

Mathias smiled. "Okay, let's go Pawns, minus Lovino. You go with Ludwig. I'll tell your unit for you."

Lovino looked pissed about this, but Ludwig took his wrist and was out of the door before he could object. Everyone else minus Meimei and I left shortly after.

Meimei and I both weren't dressed, so we decided that we would dress in normal clothes instead of the King's and Queen's clothes.

I walked out of the bathroom in brown trousers, a white shirt and a red scarf, as it was kind of cold. I took the King's staff, and headed out to the hallway where Meimei was waiting for me.

She smiled at me. She was wearing a light blue dress with a white ribbon around the waist. "Let's go investigate."

* * *

Ludwig stalked through the castle. He had no idea where his head guard was, and he intended to find him and give him a good lecture on telling his superior where he was going if he decided to wander off.

"Lovino, where did the note say he was off to?" Ludwig asked, stopping and turning around. He found that the Pawn was nowhere in sight.

"Lovino?" Ludwig called, retracing his steps. He heard talking down the hall he had come from.

"-bastard! Get off of me!" Lovino's voice, surprisingly quiet, said.

"Shhh, child. This will be over quickly, and then I'll go take care of your friend."

Ludwig eyes widened. He grabbed his amulet into his hand, then ran towards the voices. Lovino was pressed up against a wall by a man in a cloak.

The cloaked man stepped off of Lovino as a shield enveloped the smaller man, the magic a deep red. The amulet in Ludwig's hand was also pulsing a deep red color.

"Get off of him!" Ludwig yelled, standing in front of Lovino despite the shield.

The cloaked figure chuckled. "Ah, the famous Rook of Hearts, shame you didn't make the cut for Knight, isn't it?"

Ludwig growled. "Shut up. Und it vasn't zhat I missed it, it vas zhat I chose not to become zhe Knight."

The man chuckled. "Ah... Such intensity. I'll make your death simple."

"I knew it." A voice said from down the hall. The cloaked man turned, and came to face a staff almost touching his nose. Ludwig raised his eyebrows at the deadly look in Heracles' eyes.

"I knew that you were watching our conversation. I knew you would tell the head guard that Ludwig had ordered you to be there, then wrote a note yourself. I knew you would separate these two and kill them off."

"Ah, Heracles... The brains behind Hearts-"

"I suggest you take off that cloak and show us who you really are." Heracles said softly. Ludwig noticed Feliks had worked his way under the shield that was still pulsing with his magical energy.

The end of Heracles' staff started to glow purple. The cloaked man did nothing but stare at the staff, and Heracles tried nothing more than to see his face.

"HERACLES!" Mathias yelled from somewhere to the right. The cloaked man pushed the glowing staff away from his face with a finger.

"Yes, I think I will now take my leave. There are increasingly too many of you, and it does not do me well to have to stand here without completing my mission." He turned to Ludwig. "Until tonight, my target."

He disappeared into black smoke just as Heracles shot a bolt of purple energy at where he was standing. "Shit." Was all Heracles said as Mathias stopped next to him, staring at Heracles like he was insane. The Pawns gathered next to Feliks and Lovino, despite Ludwig taking the shield down.

"Woah, you weren't kidding, Heracles!" He exclaimed.

Alfred and Meimei joined the little group soon after. "What happened?" Alfred said, seeing Ludwig's shield disappearing, the crater and Heracles' staff glowing purple.

"Ludwig and Lovino were attacked, just as I suspected." Heracles said, his staff starting to return to its normal color.

"So when you said you knew that he was watching us...?" Lovino started.

"Right. I sensed someone other than us in that room, but I kept my mouth shut so I could lay down a trap."

"So you going off to the other kingdoms...?"

"Complete lie. I already know about our relations with the other kingdoms."

Alfred smiled. "Well, that was excellent quick thinking on your part. Now I know why they call you the brains of Hearts."

Lovino cleared his throat behind Ludwig. He turned to face the Pawn. "Did anyone else see the Diamonds' colors under his robes? Or was that just me?"

* * *

"That was damn definite evidence, Heracles! You said, right in front of Bella's body, that you wouldn't complain if more evidence came up!"

"I'm not complaining or hindering, Alfred. All I'm saying is that we have to compile our evidence and present it in a more manner sophisticated manner! We can't just march up to Diamonds and declare war on them."

"Fine." I leaned back into my throne. "How do you suggest we do this?"

"I'll have Ludwig write everything up, then at the meeting, _I'll_ be the one to report it. It will make more of an impact if a Bishop delivers this message."

"Makes sense. What do the rest of us do?"

"Meimei will look to see how her brother reacts, Mathias will be preparing the army during the war, as will the Pawns. You, Alfred, will be the one to answer any questions that I don't and to look confident in this issue."

I smirked. This sounded easy enough.

* * *

The meeting was in the same room. I stalked into the room, my cape billowing behind me and my court - of three: Heracles, Meimei, and Ludwig - followed behind me. My staff was clenched in my newly-gloved hand, and my crown was sitting atop my head.

The room looked at me as I stalked in, then as I slammed into the chair, glaring at Diamonds. Heracles bent down next to me and whispered in my ear. 'You're doing well, Sire. Keep up the act.' To the rest of the room though, it looked like he was telling me to not be violent and to hold my tongue. The whole point of this mission, after all, was to see who looked guilty and who didn't.

Arthur came up to me. He bent down and my glare leveled itself at him. He didn't flinch. "Hearts, are you feeling quite all right?"

I growled, but Heracles made a noise behind me. I sighed, then crossed my arms. "Fine."

Diamonds - his name was Yao, right? - looked at me skeptically. "You don't look all right-aru. Is her death-"

I stood up, slamming my hands on the table. The room flinched, minus Spades (who wasn't there). "Don't you _dare_ talk about Bella's death!" I growled at him. All part of the act...

"Oh my, looks like I've come in at an inataiquit time, now doesn't it?" Spades asked. I think I remembered someone telling me his name was Antonio.

I huffed, then plopped back into my seat, glaring at the wall to my left. Spades sat down, as did the rest Clubs and Diamonds. Antonio and Arthur shot me worried glances and Yao didn't bother to look at me.

Arthur seemed to notice my lack of court. "Where is your court, Alfred? You're missing the one Pawn required for a meeting and your Knight."

I didn't answer. I 'glowered' at the corner, but I was actually searching over the Spades court. No _seemed_ guilty...

Ludwig interrupted with a slight cough. "Pardon, your Highness of Clubs, but they are on... important business right now."

"All of your Pawns _and_ your Knight?" Antonio asked, his voice surprised. I turned my glare on him.

"Yes, your Highness of Spades." Ludwig cleared his throat, signaling that it was my turn to answer questions.

"Rounding up your military, _da?_" Ivan asked from Spades. He fingered his amulet as I turned my glare on him. He smiled childishly.

"No comment." I managed to ground out. That part I wasn't faking. I hated that damn, commie!

"Why not elaborate then, aru?" Yao asked from my left. I turned to him. He had his arms on the table, and was leveling a glare back at me.

"Sire, should I take it from here?" Heracles asked. I nodded curtly, not lifting my glare.

I heard him stand up, and Yao broke our glaring contest to look at him. I smirked and turned to watch my bishop unfurl some official rolls of parchment.

He started his speech. He was right, this compiling us evidence was much better than just demanding war. I heard gasps of surprise and horror when he finished, then he turned to me.

I stood up, the room's attention turning to me. "That is why, on today, the second day of the Yule cycle, The Kingdom of Hearts formally declares war on The Kingdom of Diamonds."

The room erupted into chaos. Yao stood up and started yelling at me, as did the rest of Diamonds, minus my father and Jack, who both looked horrified at my declaration.

I looked around the room. Clubs was murmuring to themselves, Diamonds was in an uproar, and Spades was in a similar condition to Clubs, though Antonio was quietly talking to Arthur. They both looked at me worriedly. I waited calmly as the noise level rose higher and higher.

"QUIET! Can't you see His Majesty wants to talk?!" Vash, Liech's older brother, yelled. The room turned to Antonio.

"Hearts, are you sure you want to go through with this?" He said, looking at me, then at my court.

Meimei stood up. "We cannot allow for the killing of our court to continue. We will take a stand, and we will take it now." Yao didn't look happy about her saying that.

Arthur sighed. "I take it this is why the rest of your court is absent?"

Meimei nodded. "Yes, your Highness of Clubs."

He rubbed his temple. "Hearts, aren't you being a bit too rash?"

My head pounded. _If you don't remember anything from this dream, remember this: don't be rash, don't jump into things quickly. That is what He wants you to do. Keep your head level, and most importantly: trust no one.__  
_

I put my hand to my head. Dammit, how could I have forgotten so easily? Bella... Bella had warned me of this!

I motioned for Heracles to come forward, and I walked back to meet him. The room murmured as we leaned together.

"Dude, Bishop, I just remembered part of my dream! The part where Bella told me not to be rash!"

"Don't worry, Sire. I know this. This scheme isn't real, we aren't actually going to war. Yes, the killer is someone from Diamonds, but I have a feeling there is something bigger in play here."

I nodded. "So we're still going to war?"

"If only to uncover this. We will stop fighting when there are more casualties than necessary and rethink this."

I nodded. I hated the idea of sending our boys out there just to uncover this scheme, but I had a feeling Heracles was right.

I turned to the room. "Hearts will be taking their leave now."

And with that, I strode out of the room, my court of three behind me.

* * *

**_Book One has finally come to an end! Book Two will be all about the wars that Hearts goes into trying to uncover the killer. Here's a sneak-peak:_**

**Alfred slammed his head on the table. Who knew making war plans could be so difficult?! Dang, why weren't things going- Wait, what was that?**

**Alfred slowly turned and saw that behind him, behind his battle plans, was a deck of cards that was glowing red, and a chess board that was glowing purple. Somehow, Alfred knew that if he took the deck of cards he'd be playing defense, and if he sat at the chess board he'd be playing offense. He sat at the board, the pieces magically setting themselves up. He had ten Pawns, two Knights, two Rooks, one Queen, two Bishops, and himself. The other teams had the same exact pieces. His pieces were glowing purple, and the opposing team was glowing navy blue.**

**Little did he know that a certain King from a certain kingdom was also setting up the game, and little did he know that when morning came for both of them they would be stuck in the game until one side won. And little did they know, that both of them had fallen into His trap, for if one of them lost, their kingdom would lose the war.**

**_And I cut it off there because I'm just like that. _**

**_Reviews are welcomed, but not required!_**

**_~PurpleLuna98_**


	7. The Wrong War

_**The first part of the second book! Yay!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia... *tear***_

_**Warnings: war. Also, mentions of murder, delusions, and conspiracies**_

_**Song of the Chapter: Breakeven by The Script**_

* * *

_Book II:_

_Part I: The Wrong War_

* * *

_Everyone in this chapter you guys should be able to recognize. Again. Except for Him._

* * *

A month passed without much event. Diamonds and Hearts built up their militaries, Clubs and Spades tried to talk them out of it, and Alfred was at the center of it all.

Mathias and Alfred worked on battle plans, Meimei and Alfred worked on calming the citizens and getting young men to volunteer, Ludwig and Alfred talked about defensive strategies, and Heracles and Alfrer talked about how best to balance our strengths and weaknesses.

He was looking over battle plans a month after Hearts had started the war by invading a border town. No casualties, because after all, Hearts didn't want to hurt anybody. Lovino was in the field with his brigade.

Hearts then had two more parties, led by Raivis (turns out he can use a sword!) and Katyusha, to take down two more border towns, one that brought in a lot of revenue to Diamonds in the north, and one more towards the capitol. Hearts secured both with little difficulty, but that was when Diamonds had started to attack back.

They started with the town closest to the capitol, Bungalow, where Raivis was at. He defended for two whole days, but his men were tiring, so he withdrew to another town more inland that had a path to the closet other village that we had taken, Hillam, where Lovino was stationed.

That was a day ago. Raivis' letter had reached Alfred that morning. He replied telling him to give him a day-by-day report. Alfred also sent a letter to Katyusha, Mathias (who was training troops in a smaller city), and Lovino informing them of the situation.

Alfred was now in their usual meeting hall, but it had been converted into a base of war operations. He was standing in front of a giant map of Hearts and Diamonds that was spread over a sturdy marble table. He was slowly marking it with what they had of war advancements.

_Red lines here, here, and here connecting Winston (capitol of Hearts) to Hillam, Bungalow and Tarrant. Those three towns with red 'X's. Blue line from Gother (Diamonds capitol) to Bungalow, and a blue circle around the red X. Red line from Bungalow to Hoodlum, ten miles inland, and a red X there. Now-_

"Sire?" Someone asked above him. Alfred continued his quill's red path from Winston to Yulon, the training city that Mathias was in.

"Hmm?" Alfred asked, not looking up as he made a red circle around it.

"The Queen of Diamonds is here to see you, Sire. He requests you come alone." Alfred looked up at the messenger boy.

He smiled down at him as he straightened up and dusted off his King's clothes. "Tell him I won't come alone, but I'll be there in a sec."

He nodded and scurried off. Alfred walked through the mazes of piles and piles of all the books we could find on war (there were a lot more than they had thought), globes, tables with maps on them, even a table with the members of the Diamonds court. Alfred looked at each place he had seen Heracles standing before, until he came across his favorite spot: the hawkry. Heracles was attaching a letter container to his hawk's leg.

"Hey, Heracles?" Alfred asked after he had let the bird fly away. "What was that letter?"

"A letter to Clubs in response to their plea for us to stop fighting and get a clearer answer." He turned around to me. Like him, the war had taken a toll on his sleeping habits and it was obvious. "What did you need, Sire?"

"Could you come with me to talk to the Queen of Diamonds? He has requested me to be alone, but I don't trust him."

Heracles nodded. "Sure, why not?" He grabbed his staff, picked the feathers off of his purple and red cloak, then followed Alfred out of the room.

"Where is the messenger?"

"Should be at the doors waiting for us." Alfred answered, checking his map space as they passed just in case.

"Right." They walked to the doorway to find the messenger waiting for them. "Take us to his majesty, if you would."

He bowed and started to walk down the hall. Alfred smiled, remembering the first time someone, his twin, in fact, had come to visit Hearts since they had made that room as their base of operations. Heracles had scolded the messenger boy for weeks because he had actually brought the Bishop of Clubs _to_ the room.

Heracles said it wasn't safe because someone could spill our plans, and Alfred agreed with him... on everyone except Mattie. He had been the only outsider in that room since it became operations' room.

The messenger boy opened the door, and stepped aside to let the two members of the court in. Heracles stepped in first, and Alfred flipped a coin over his shoulder to the boy, who squealed in joy and he shut the door silently. Alfred smiled.

"As generous as ever I see, your Majesty." Francis said from his left.

Alfred looked at him. Despite his Queen's suit being in pristine condition, Alfred could tell he was worse for ware. His eyes were duller and not full of as much life, his hair wasn't blonde, but more of a yellow, and his eyes had deep, purple sags under them.

Alfred ran over to him. "Oh my God, Francis! Are you okay?!"

He pushed Alfred away. "Yes, my boy, but you shouldn't be concerned about me. Your kingdom would call this treatury, would it not?"

Alfred nodded. Heracles stepped forward. "Sorry to be blunt, your highness, but there must be a reason you are here."

Francis sighed. "Yes, there indeed is. I have figured out who has been killing your comrades."

Alfred jumped into attention, and Heracles lifted his head slowly to meet Francis' gaze. "Who do you think it is?"

"Well... To be perfectly honest, I think that it is more than one person in on it, and that the person I know to be the murderer is somehow being controlled."

Heracles narrowed his eyes, but Alfred spoke up before he could criticize Francis' hypothesis. "Who do you think they are? And why...?"

"The murdered is my King of Diamonds, Yao Wang, but I fear that there is a greater puppet-master at work. The rest of the court is under the same spell, and I am the only one other than Elizabeta that still has their own free will. I do suspect someone, but I don't know who they are, or where they reside."

Alfred nodded slowly, and Heracles' scowl softened quite a bit. "Your Highness, if the King is under control, how did you come here on royal business?"

"They think I went to Clubs to negotiate an alliance, but I snuck onto the Hearts train instead. This is very serious business, and I was afraid that if I told them where I was really going that the puppet-master would swoop in and take my will."

Alfred's stare hardened. "So we're at war with the wrong kingdom."

"Yes, I am sorry to say, but your war is with the incorrect kingdom, unless Elizabeta or I am the puppet-master, which I assure you, we're not."

Heracles sighed. "We must continue the war, if not for a while longer. It will look suspicious to end it so soon."

Alfred rubbed his temple. "You have a point. Thank you so much for this, Queen of Diamonds."

Francis smiled wearily. "For now, until this whole mess is resolved, call me Father."

Alfred nodded, and Heracles led him out and down the hall. Alfred slowly walked back to the base camp room. Things were swirling around in his head. Bella had been right, he had rushed into things too quickly.

Alfred walked back to my area. After looking at the map for a long while, Alfred slammed his head on the table. Who knew being King could be so difficult?! Dang, why weren't things going- Wait, what was that?

Alfred slowly turned and saw that behind him, behind his battle plans, was a deck of cards that was glowing red, and a chess board that was glowing purple. Somehow, Alfred knew that if he took the deck of cards he'd be playing defense, and if he sat at the chess board he'd be playing offense. The side would be for more than just the war, though. The defense would mean letting the threat come to him, and the offense would be going out and finding the threat.

He sat at the board, the pieces magically setting themselves up. He had ten Pawns, two Knights, two Rooks, one Queen, two Bishops, and himself. The other teams had the same exact pieces. His pieces were glowing purple, and the opposing team was glowing navy blue.

Little did he know that a certain King from a certain kingdom was also setting up the game, and little did he know that when morning came for both of them they would be stuck in the game until one side won. And little did they know, that both of them had fallen into His trap, for if one of them lost, their kingdom would lose the war, and the right to call themselves a kingdom.

* * *

_**I'm back~! Hey guys, if you could, it'd be awesome if you could go to my profile and vote on the poll I put up. It would really mean a lot, since I'm kinda conflicted about what I should do with all the writing I have. RAWR!**_

_**Reviews are welcomed, but not required!**_

_**~PurpleLuna98**_


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